xi, 339 pages ; 25 cm

"In this study, Mitch Kachun explores the multiple functions and contested meanings of African American emancipation celebrations, from the abolition of the slave trade to the fiftieth anniversary of U.S. emancipation." "Based on extensive research in African American newspapers and oration texts, this book retraces a vital if often overlooked tradition in African American political culture and addresses important issues about black participation in the public sphere. By illuminating the origins of black Americans' public commemorations, it also helps explain why there have been increasing calls in recent years to make the "Juneteenth" observance of emancipation an American - not just an African American - day of commemoration."--BOOK JACKET

Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-326) and index

"A day of publick thanksgiving" : foundations, 1808-1834 -- "A borrowed day of jubilee" : maturation, 1834-1862 -- "An American celebration" : expansion and fragmentation, 1862-1870s -- "Let children's children never forget" : remembrance and amnesia, 1870s-1910s -- "Lessons of emancipation for a new generation" : reorientation, 1860s-1900s -- "A great occasion for display" : contestation in Washington, D.C., 1860s-1900s -- "The faith that the dark past has taught us" : dissolution, 1900-1920

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